Japan PM says UN sanctions on North Korea must be firmly imposed

TOKYO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday that United Nations sanctions on North Korea needed to be firmly imposed.

Abe, speaking to reporters, said that the international community must send a clear message to North Korea over its provocative actions.

North Korea fired a missile on Friday that flew over Japan’s northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean, South Korean and Japanese officials said, further ratcheting up tensions after Pyongyang’s recent test of a powerful nuclear bomb. (Reporting by Tim Kelly and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chris Gallagher)